Choose a reward:

Crushing Vambraces of Vitality (Rare)

Passive: Makes your fists hard as stone and adds weight to each of your punches.

Passive: You feel more alive: +30 to Vitality

Slart’s Invisible Platform (Rare)

Active: Create a mostly immovable, mostly unbreakable, invisible platform suspended in the air up to three times a day.

Feyhorn Bow (Rare)

Passive: Arrows shot by this bow travel 50% faster.

Active: For three minutes arrows have a 15% chance to become invisible during flight.

Just rares again… damn it. It was a tad disappointing. It somewhat made sense though. He had killed only one bigger jadari creature – the giant four-armed chieftain. And he had killed two of the great monsters. This meant that if he had taken the time to find and kill another one, he might’ve gotten an (Epic) item. His rewards after only two bosses last time had also been a (Rare) item.

It was a pity. He might’ve gone for it if he had considered the possibility of getting a greater reward.

The choices were not that good either. The Vambraces were something custom-made for Jay, while the Bow could serve Ashlyn better. The only thing that stuck out was Slart’s Invisible Platform, but… it just sounded silly. What use did such an item have? How did it even work?

The description sounded way off from the other two items. Almost like the vambraces and the bow were System items, and the platform was not. That intrigued Alan to some extent. He had yet to visit a proper magical shop, and he was certain such existed throughout the Universe. Who knew, maybe there was a way to get one unto New Earth as well?

With a sigh, he chose the platform. If anything, it could make for cool jokes, or perhaps it could help with crossing chasms.

A small rectangular piece of embellished steel appeared before him in a flash of light. It was carved out with tiny symbols that were almost unnoticeable from some distance. Alan took it and instantly poured some mana into it while focusing on the air before him.

He saw the air move a bit, felt that something happened, and then nothing. Extending his hand he felt around where the platform should’ve been and smiled as he found something hard and cold. With a thought, shadows poured out of his hand and wrapped around the platform under his guidance until it was a black square, about two square meters. It just floated there, immovable no matter what he tried.

The description had not mentioned anything of range, so he needed to test that further. It was a strange tool to have, but strange times called for strange preparations anyway.

With that out of the way, and slight disappointment he hadn’t gotten any armor or weapons capable of slaying all of his foes at once, Alan ventured on. He had a pretty good idea of how to find his way back. His memory had gotten better, especially when he decided to pay attention to things. It was a sort of an ‘at will competence’. He could get just as distracted as before, and he didn’t feel much smarter, but some things were just easier.

Funny how that worked.

He ignored most dangerous encounters on the way, deciding that rushing levels just for a single skill was not a wise thing. He had a lot to do. Skill selection was a mystery and something he hadn’t thought of much at all. Perhaps it was influenced by external factors. No, it was certainly influenced by external factors.

But which? Rounding up his existing skills, improving where he could, and maybe even finishing the next ritual were steps he planned to take to increase his chances of getting something great. Not just good. Great. It was uncertain what skills a class like his would allow for, but he could wait a bit to find out.

The trees flashed by him, tall and imposing, ever hiding the true face of the forest. It took him two days of moving day and night to reach the vicinity of the Sanctuary. Quite a few powerful auras had made him consider stopping for a quick fight, but the discomfort inside of him that gnawed at how he had left didn’t let him get distracted.

All his desires were selfish in a way. On one hand, was the ever-present craving for growth, as if the System had changed that part of him. Made him want to kill. To level up. To seek new heights.

On the other was the rational thinking. He didn’t want to rush things. He had a lot to work with and a lot he didn’t quite understand. In fact, he was ready to let some skills go or try to go a different route with them. He wanted quality this time around.

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There was also the fact that he needed to do something for his piece of mind. The episodes of hesitation that came so often were not something sustainable. He needed to be certain in his ways. A shepherd meant a leader of sorts. And a leader needed to be prepared for the path ahead to be effective. Alan didn’t feel like it. He knew there was some sort of invisible burden set on his shoulders, but what that entailed was still a guessing game.

The whispers, the visions, the strange happenings around him. Like a cog in a machine he knew nothing of, he kept finding resolve only for it to slip out of his fingers so easily. A cursed cycle he wanted to break once and for all. That would be a type of freedom. Freedom of the chains of his past life. They found a way back, no matter what. He had broken them already, and yet like ghosts from beyond the grave, they influenced his new self. His ‘darkness’ was threatening to engulf him at times, fueled by the buried anger and hatred he carried.

He also needed freedom from the influence of whatever haunted him. His class, his skills, his bloodline, his traits. It was all limiting, influencing his path and taking his agency. It would have to stop.

As he neared Sanctuary 142 he paused. There was another set of walls erected around what had previously been a mess of debris and strange smooth concrete. The change was quite drastic from when he had last been here. Time had slipped away once again, and he wasn’t sure how long he had been gone, but it wasn’t more than a few weeks at most. Then again, skills allowed for fast changes.

A small figure jumped from the wall and slowed down as she neared the ground. A skill. She walked toward him. Hurried. Almost frantic.

Alan frowned. Had that person waited? How had he been sensed? He was certain there was no one at his level in their Sanctuary. The thought of Jay passed through his mind, but he ignored it. That man was an outlier, just like Alan.

He stood waiting at the treeline and soon recognized the one walking toward him. Mayra, the ‘witch’. The [Inscription Warlock] that had sent him away so long ago.

The one he had cursed. He focused on his curse and sensed it there, slowly bleeding like a tiny internal wound. Had she managed to use it to find him in some way? That was impressive. He didn’t know much, but he knew that a [Heritage] skill was on a whole different level when it came to complexities.

“Please,” the little witch called as she neared. “Please, end it,” she said. She was panting by the time she fell on her knees in the grass just a few meters away from Alan. Her dress was a thin short thing of something like silk, barely enough to shelter her from the cool wind blowing from the forest. Her dark makeup was smudged, and her hair was a mess. And she looked like she hadn’t slept in months. Did she even need sleep? Her markings were barely visible on the exposed skin having faded somewhat.

What had changed?

I didn’t mean for the curse to break her like that.

“Is it that bad?” Alan asked, almost slapping himself when the words left his mouth. Of course, it was bad. He only had to look at her. She was trembling under his gaze. Still, he thought that the curse would be just a spooky thing. A lesson that would bother her and remind her of him.

“I’ll do anything for it to stop. I can’t take anymore. I can’t. I’ll swear an Oath—”

Her markings flashed and she whimpered but didn’t scream.

“Is your Patron punishing you?” Alan asked. For begging me for mercy? Couldn’t that thing, whatever it is, have gotten rid of my curse? Or is the connection between them not strong enough?

“Yes. I—My thoughts are lacking sincerity. It’s harming the [Pact]. You were a [Warlock] you should know this, but… you never had a patron, did you? I can do anything I want, but you… you are different. My patron dislikes you. Because you’re free… I want to be free, like you.” The last words were spoken as a whisper, barely distinguishable from the whispering leaves of the trees.

“I was kind of winging it. I didn’t know I needed to have a patron, and turns out I didn’t. The System provided, and some lucky encounters pushed me forth,” Alan said, scratching his head. He was growing uncomfortable which in itself was a novel sensation. This was… an unexpected result.

I had forgotten about her, to be honest. Shit.

Mayra flinched, looking to the side. She was trying hard to keep her gaze down and in front of her. Alan wasn’t sure she had heard his words.

With a sigh, he stepped close, then knelt next to the girl. She seemed weak. Too fragile.

“It wasn’t my intention for the Curse to work so well. I’m having some trouble with anger management. I’m sorry,” he said. He meant it. While she had tried to effectively end him, she had been manipulated and urged on by external forces. Cole being one of them. Looking at her now he decided she had suffered enough.

“If you go against me again though, I’ll let you feel the Curse’s full effect before you die. All right?” he said with an oddly sweet voice.

You sound like a psychopath, fool. Damn it, have I forgotten to act normal? No… No. I never knew how to do that in the first place.

Mayra nodded. Alan pulled at the Curse, ordering it to dissipate. A thin thread of darkness left with the girl’s next breath and she sagged into his arms.

Then started sobbing.

“Thank you. Thank you.”

Alan grimaced but didn’t move away. This was too much. I should’ve stayed in the Dungeon…

The girl cried for what seemed like an eternity to Alan but was probably mere minutes. Finally, she calmed down and Alan sighed in relief as she pulled away.

“I swear upon my class and levels that I’ll never betray you, Alan,” she suddenly said—the words… melted. Like wax or something soft turning liquid, it entered Alan’s mind repeatedly, echoing. It was not unpleasant, but it was strange. Not quite a System message, and yet…

You’ve received an Oath.

Alan’s mouth hung open. Just like that? Mayra doubled over, the markings on her pale skin flashing violently until they peeled off and burned like ash into the air. Something passed through the air. No. Through the mana. Not the ambient one that was everywhere and fed the world and its inhabitants, but a level deeper. It was power – one that Alan found utterly detestable. Were all Patrons petty children? Were all such beings obsessed with controlling their subjects and throwing fits at the slightest straying of their paths?

Am I so hated that her Patron is leaving her? God, I only wanted to punish her a little.

It all lasted a minute or so, and by the end of it Mayra seemed weaker. She was calmer now though.

“Did your patron leave you?” Alan asked.

The girl weakly shook her head and then bit her lips. “No. Just took away some of my abilities. I… might be useless for a while.”

“That’s fine… I wasn’t really expecting anything from you… Come. Let’s return to the Sanctuary.”

Alan remained utterly confused by what had just transpired as he slowly made his way toward the Sanctuary. One foot in front of the other. Like a normal person.

The ‘witch’ walked a step beside him. A new completely trustworthy ally.

One he wasn’t particularly fond of or cared about.